Is Pono no more?

Btw. I can't find Zuma on Spotify.

 

1. SD Card?

2. Are you able to access any online music retailer? Worse comes to worse, you could proxy in.

 

iPhone
Apple camera connection kit (really a dongle)
Audioquest Dragonfly Red or Black

Much more portable than carrying around a phone and a separate DAP, cheaper, and sounds just as good.

 

I have two portable devices that can play 24/96, and TOGETHER they cost less than a Pono.

I got a Fiio x5 refurbished (though it had zero signs of use). The interface is no Apple product, but it doesn't have to be sync-ed with a special app either. It plays DSD and such, and sounds far better than it should for the price.

I also have a Tascam portable recorder that could play whatever I put on the SD card (but not DSD... up to 24/96). It also uses AA batteries which would be great for use when daily charging wouldn't be possible (like camping trips). It's way bulkier but it's for recording after all, with XLR inputs and stereo mics built in.

 

It used to be there before he removed the catalog. I guess it is a glitch.

 

So did they stop selling the player as well? I thought it was only the website for downloading files that was down.

 

Fascinating interview. Thanks.

 

Pono was a valiant effort by Neil to improve the audio quality of music. But his lack of transparency and communication with those who supported Pono are inexcusable.

 

I've not followed the PONO debate much if at all mainly because I don't need this sort of device to add to all the other formats that the industry has tempted me with over the years.

Like many folk on here, vinyl and CD are fine for me. So just give us the remastered albums on CD and future archive sets on BluRay as per Archive 1 and I'll buy them. I don't have the first four albums on vinyl (as I was happy with the CD remasters) so am not likely to be tempted by any of the subsequent releases either on that format. It's a case of all or nothing for me. I realise it's like talking to a brick wall when it comes to convincing NY that he gets things wrong but ever since Archives 1 came out his policy of reissuing the old stuff in the manner he has is slowly driving people away. I know he doesn't care about that either but that shouldn't stop people from saying it. If he doesn't believe in CD why release the recent less significant albums on that format?

 

The Pono website is still up, but currently does not have a listing for the player. They do still have a fine selection of t-shirts however.

 

There already loads and have been for years.
I use the HIFIman HM-901. amazing sound.
or Ibasso, or Fiio, or Sony etc etc
I'd avoid the AK ones myself. not the best VFM

 

Unlucky for you. I'm listening to my iPhone right now, streaming a 320 mp3 of John Coltrane via bluetooth to a Bose Soundlink speaker, and it sound pretty darned good I must say. Hope my tolerance never falls!

I'm not quite sure why people seem happy, or vindicated, that Pono has failed: competition in the high res marketplace drives innovation and forces down prices. I think Neil gave it a decent swing but trying to get into that market with a startup was never going to be easy.

 

Made me laugh.

 

I think most of them got covered here. My guess is the most widely used brand seems to be Fiio. Within that brand you can dip your toes in with the X1 which does 24/192 and people seem to really like it at $80; up to the x7 at about $550. I am about to get a x5ii fired up hopefully this weekend, my first experience with that brand; that one is about the price of a Pono on sale. As much as I love the Pono, for travel it is tough to beat the x5ii's supposedly 10 hours of battery vs. maybe 4-5 range in my experience in balanced mode on the Pono (though an external battery solves that); plus 2 sd card slots on the x5ii so 400 gb vs. 264 without switching 200gb cards (although that isn't really all that tough other than maybe in a travel situation). I am looking forward to seeing the x5ii can do. I am heading back to etymotics as the isolation cannot be beat, and they don't do balanced as of yet.

 

LOVE this player. It sounds great with the Audeze Sine headphones. Moved over when my Pono stopped being able to save files on its built-in storage. I still wish the Pono store would come back, though, as they had all of the the old Chronological Jazz Classics series in flac , which I can't find anywhere else.

 

I guess that's why the Pono emails stopped......

 

Neil Young's New Album Isn't Available on Pono... »

 

There is so much incorrect information in that article I'm not interested in a single word it says

 

Going forward, Neil wants all correspondences hand written and delivered on crazy horseback.

 

If Pono is/was a good idea, Neil should have worked with other artists to bring it to market and promote it.

 

In the UK it was never possible to buy a Pono player or download the music (after paying) if you were in the UK. I would have bought one and paid for some downloads but hey there you go.

 

I'm about to send my Pono in for repair, but I might hold off until we get clarification on the status of the company.

I may end up shopping around for a replacement player, the thing that puts me off the FiiO players is the menu structure, not being able to select a specific album when selecting an artist is a big no for me. I've been reading really good things about the Pioneer XDP100R

 

Article was placed here to read. How one interprets the article is up to the individual. Believe it or disbelieve what one will.

 

No one's music is available on Pono at present. Typical click-bate article. No offense to the poster intended. As for the author......

 

And, in Canada, downloads were only available late in the game.